Tip for weft detectors



y 1935- o. v. PAYNE 2,007,835

TIP FOR WEFT DETECTORS Filed Aug. 31, 1954 6scar V. Fam ne (litov'nek sLi a j which sink into a working supply of yarn and are Patented July 9,1935 TIP FOR WEFT DETECTORS ,"Oscar V. Payne, Leicester; Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation ofMassachusetts Application August 31, 1934, Serial No. 742,258

' 1 8 Claims. (Cl.,139 -287) "This invention relates to improvements infeeler tips for Weft detectors and it is the general objejctof theinvention to'provide a detector having improved wearing qualitiescoupled with smooth contacting surfaces which will not abrade theyarnbeing detected.

EInthetype of weft detector to which my invention particularly relatesthere is an arm hav ing sa surface with weft penetrating elements heldagainst lateral movement, but when the weft is exhaustedaheelementsslide along the bare bobbin to initiate a change in loom operation. Asheretofore made the penetrating elements have been in various; forms,such as teeth out in metal 'or fiberwbut when used in certain types ofyarn undesirably rapid wear results;

tantfeatureof my present'invention to use a wire to form the penetratingelements of the detector, thewire having a surface whichis smooth andhard andtherefore capable of resisting Wear when used with .hard yarn.

With certaintypesof yarn it is desirablethat the detector arm beas'light as po ssible to reduce the force ofuthe blow accompanying eachdetecting operation'rand I accordingly make the carrier for .thedetector surface a light wire .of small dimensions. In order that theproper diameter of coils maybe provided I surround a portion of thecarrier wirewith a barrel having a diameter with cientto accommodatespring coils of a-proper SIZE; i

i The springhas two free ends whichwill abrade theweft being detectedunless guarded and it is a further object of my present invention to'provide a carrier for the spring; such as the previously mentionedbarrel, shaped to guard the ends of the spring. In order that the barrelmay not rotate on the carrier wire I curve the barrel after it has beenapplied to the" carrier wire, thus holding the free ends of the springon the forwardpart of the barrel wherethey cannot have engagement withment of parts hereinafter described and set forth and damagethe surface:being detected. f The curving of the barrel together with thedisposition of the coils of spring along a curved line re-. sults inimproved detecting operation.

I It is a further object of my invention to provideforholding the springon the barrel in such away as to prevent longitudinal and rotationalmovement thereof on the barrel. This result-may be achieved by providingnotchesfor recesses in thabarrel for the bent ends of the spring.

With :these and other objects in View. which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention-resides in the combination andarrangein the claimsp i i In theacoompanying drawing, wherein aconvenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

It is an impor- Fig. 1 is a planview of a detector employing my improvedtip, i

Fig. 2 is a portion of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 3.is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 'is an enlarged vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5-5 of Fi 3, and

--Figs. 6 to 10. represent diagrammatically one method of making myimproved detector tip.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a bracket supported bythe loom frame not shown and carrying a weftdetector D having a housing2| in which is mounted a slide 22 for back and forth motion. A detectorarm -23 is pivoted as at 24 to the slide and has a forwardly'extendingtail 25 held againsta stop 26 on the slide by a spring 2'! located inthe housing. The spring bears against a part of arm 23 and serves thedual purpose of holding the detector arm 23 in normal desired form astop to limit rear motion of the detector and may also be the means forwithdrawing the feeler arm on transferring beats of the loom.

A controller is located for cooperative relation with thetaiLZfi andnormally clears an actuator lever 3! having a downward moton eachdetecting beat of the loom; The actuator moves in a guide Stand whenuninterrupted effects no change in the loom, but when the controller ismoved to the left by tail 25 it holds up the actuator and a change willresult, such as stoppage or replenishment. The matter thus far describedmay be as set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,738,198 and of itself formsno part of my present invention. 7

In carryingmy present invention into effectI secure to the rear part ofdetector arm 23 a carrier wire All which extends rearwardly and is bentslightly tohave a section H terminating in a bend 42. The wire thenextends through a barrel i3, and is rebent as at 44 and has a straightpart a5 extending into proximity to or in actual engagement'with thewire 40.

Thebarrel 45 may, originally be of cylindrical form andis provided nearits ends and on the.

same side thereof with flat slabbedsurfaces 46 which define recesses 4!having shoulders 48- 2c. angular position with respect to the slideandthe barrel 43. The spring is expanded before application to thebarrel and when released contracts to grip the same so that there is noappreciable relative movement of the coils either along the barrel orback and forth with respect to each other. I find it desirable tomaintain the coils in a definite relation with respect to the pivot 24.This relation may be effected by the adjustment provided for by the bolt29 which passes through the housing of the detector and the bracket 20.

A method of forming my improved detector tip is set forth in Figs. 6 to10. In Fig. 6 the barrel is shown as being straight and the carrier wire4!! ready to enter bore 55 of the barrel. The wire is then passedthrough the bore and extended beyond to the right, as shown in Fig. '7,after which the spring 50 is placed over the barrel, as suggested inFig. 8. The ends 51 of the spring may then be bent up so as to beconfined within the notches 41 and preferably in engagement withshoulders 68, as suggested in Fig. 4, after which the barrel and thewire passing through it are jointly bent so that the notches are on theinside of the bend, to assume the shape suggested in Fig. 9. Thereafterthe parts 4| and are bent toward each other to assume a position shownin Fig. 10 which corresponds to the structural showing of Figs. 1, 2 and5. i

I preferably form the bends 42 and 44 as near the ends of the barrel aspossible so that the latter will have no opportunity to slide along thatpart of the wire 4U which it surrounds.

In operation, a working supply of weft will be penetrated by the springcoils and slipping along the surfaces being detected will be prevented.When the bobbin B is practically empty so that only a very small amountof weft W remains, as shown in Fig. 1, the coils of the spring willslide along the bobbin to give the indication previously described.

The wire of which the spring is formed may be made of any desired sizedepending upon the character of yarn being detected and as light as isconsistent with requisite strength. The proper diameter of the coils isdetermined by the diameter of the barrel 43 which is comparatively shortand adds little to the weight of the moving parts of the detector. Theshoulders 48, by their engagement with the ends of the spring, preventthe latter from longitudinal motion along the barrel.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a very simpleform of detector tip comprising a spring surrounding a barrel mounted.

on a carrier wire and larger than the latter. The coils of the springare held to the proper diameter by the barrel. The latter is alsoprovided with recesses or notches which receive the free ends of thespring, and the bend or curve of the barrel is such that these ends ofthe wire can never engage the surface being detected. Furthermore, theends of the spring as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are preferably so disposedwith respect to adjacent parts of the barrel that no yarn lying acrossthe feeler tip will have an opportunity to catch on said ends. Also, thespring is held against longitudinal motion on the'barrel by shoulders48, and the barrel is placed definitely by bends 42 and M of the carrierwire, so that the coils of the spring are maintained in correct positionwith respect to the pivot 24.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. A tip for a weft detector comprising a supporting barrel held againstrotation and formed with recesses in the front part thereof, and acoiled spring having coils extending around the barrel to presentdetector teeth and having the ends thereof located in the recesses.

2. A tip for a. weft detector comprising a curved barrel, and a curvedcarrier wire extending through and supporting the barrel, and a coiledspring on the barrel having the ends thereof terminating on that side ofthe barrel opposite the part which engages the surface being detectedand on the inside of the curve of said barrel.

3. A tip for a weft detector comprising a carrier wire having a partthereof'curved, a barrel sur rounding the curved part of the wire andpartaking of the curve of said part, and a coiled spring on the barrelhaving the coils thereof arranged as detector teeth along the curvedbarrel and having the ends thereof held out of engaging positionrelatively to the surface being detected, rotation of the barrel beingprevented by' the curvature of said wire and barrel.

4. A tip for a weft detector comprising a curved barrel held againstrotation and having recesses therein, and a coiled spring surroundingsaid barrel and having the ends thereof located in the recesses toprevent slipping of the spring along the barrel, said recesses and endsof the spring being located on the side of the barrel opposite the partengaged by the weft during a detecting operation.

5. A feeler tip for a weft detector comprising a carrier wire, a barrel,part of the wire extending through the barrel and together with thelatter being curved to have a convex surface toward the surface beingdetected, other parts of the carrier wire being bent forwardly-from eachend of the barrel, and a coil spring surrounding the barrel and havingthe coils thereof serving as detector teeth and having the ends thereofterminating adjacent the concave side of the curve of the barrel.

6. A tip for a weft detector comprising a curved barrel having a curvedbore therethrough, a carrier wire extending through the bore, theportions of the wire adjacent the ends of the barrel being bentforwardly to prevent substantial longitudinal movement of the barrelalong the part of the wire extending through the bore and a coil springsurrounding the barrel and gripping the latter by the resilience of thecoils thereof and having its ends located on that side of the barrelopposite the latter part which engages the surface to be detected, thebarrel and spring being held against longitudinal movement relatively tothe carrier wire.

'7. A tip for a weft detector comprising a barrel held against rotationand having recesses defining shoulders transverse of the longitudinalaxis of said barrel, and a coil spring surroundingthe barrel and havingthe ends thereof terminating in the recesses and positioned to engagethe shoulders to prevent longitudinal movement of the spring along thebarrel.

8. A tip for a weft detector having a barrel held against rotation,shoulders formed on the barrel disposed transversely of the axis of thelatter, and a coil spring surrounding the barrel and having the endsthereof bent to have engage ment with the shoulders to preventlongitudinal movement of the spring along the barrel.

. OSCAR V. PAYNE.

